赶 gǎn — to catch up; to overtake; to hurry; to rush; to drive away
为了赶火车，他跑得很快。Wèi le gǎn huǒ chē, tā pǎo de hěn kuài.He ran fast to catch the train.
Common words: 赶紧 (gǎn jǐn)、赶快 (gǎn kuài)、赶到 (gǎn dào)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to hurry"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to hurry", including 赶 (gǎn), 促 (cù), 奔 (bēn / bèn), 趋 (qū). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to hurry" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 赶 (gǎn), 促 (cù), 奔 (bēn / bèn), 趋 (qū) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span gǎn, cù, bēn, bèn, qū — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 赶 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 赶 gǎnto catch up; to overtake; to hurry; to rush; to drive awayUseful words: 赶紧, 赶快
- 促 cùto hurry; to rush; to hasten; near; to promoteUseful words: 促进, 促使
- 奔 bēn / bènto hurry or rush; to run quickly; to elope; go to; towardsUseful words: 奔驰, 奔跑
- 趋 qūto hasten; to hurry; walk fastUseful words: 趋势, 趋于
Common words for these 4 "to hurry" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 赶 (gǎn) — so "to hurry" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
赶紧gǎn jǐnhurriedly; without delay赶快gǎn kuàiquickly; at once赶到gǎn dàoto hurry (to some place)促进cù jìnto promote (an idea or cause); to advance; boost促使cù shǐto prompt; to induce; to spur促销cù xiāoto promote sales奔驰bēn chíto run quickly; to speed; to gallop奔跑bēn pǎoto run奔波bēn bōto rush about; to be constantly on the move趋势qū shìtrend; tendency
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "to hurry".
促 cù — to hurry; to rush; to hasten; near; to promote
老师的鼓励促使我更加努力。Lǎo shī de gǔ lì cù shǐ wǒ gèng jiā nǔ lì.The teacher encouragement prompted me to work even harder.
Common words: 促进 (cù jìn)、促使 (cù shǐ)、促销 (cù xiāo)
奔 bēn / bèn — to hurry or rush; to run quickly; to elope; go to; towards
听到铃声，孩子们向操场奔去。Tīng dào líng shēng, hái zi men xiàng cāo chǎng bēn qù.Hearing the bell, the children ran toward the playground.
Common words: 奔驰 (bēn chí)、奔跑 (bēn pǎo)、奔波 (bēn bō)
趋 qū — to hasten; to hurry; walk fast
最近，天气有变冷的趋势。Zuì jìn, tiān qì yǒu biàn lěng de qū shì.Recently, the weather tends to be getting colder.
Common words: 趋势 (qū shì)、趋于 (qū yú)、日趋 (rì qū)
All 4 characters
Open 赶、促、奔 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.